1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the driveline of a motor vehicle, and is independent of the driven wheel configuration. For example, the motor vehicle driveline may be front wheel drive, rear wheel drive and/or all wheel drive, with or without locking differential axle(s). The invention relates more particularly to detecting and controlling wheel-hop through detection, measurement, monitoring and automatic transmission one-way clutch protection.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Wheel hop is an objectionable operating condition that occurs in the driveline of a motor vehicle. It is known that driveline torsional oscillations excite the vehicle at a characteristic frequency, the natural frequency of the system. Wheel hop is apparent when the driven wheels oscillate torsionally due to the driven wheels being in frictional contact with a road surface followed by the wheels losing contact (sometimes referred to as stick and slip). During a wheel hop condition, the vehicle's suspension system often oscillates torsionally producing vertical and angular displacements (sometimes referred to as wrap-up).
The resulting periodic driveline impact loads generated by wheel hop can potentially exceed the design limitations of many of the driveline components.
A need exists in the industry for a reliable, repetitive technique to detect, measure, monitor and protect the principal driveline components, including the automatic transmission and its internal components from damage and to avoid performance problems caused by wheel hop.